Process of forming metal sprouts.



.J. GOEGLEIN.

PROCESS OF FORMING METAL SPROUTS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.25.1914.

Patented Oct. 5, 1915.

IN V EN TOR. v7.1 6057/9? VITNESSES: ffiM/ZV i A TTORNEW UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM J. GOEGLEIN,

OF GOLDFIELD, COLORADO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO E. A. COLBURN, JR., OFVICTOR, COLORADO.

PROCESS OF FORMING METAL SPROUTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 1915.

Application filed March 25, 1914. Serial No. 827,159.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

' a citizerrof the United States, residing at Goldfield, in the countyof Teller and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Processes of Forming Metal Sprouts, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to a process of producing ornaments from reticulateformations of gold and silver, commonly known as sprouts, and itsprimary object resides in providing a simple and effective method offorming said sprouts to correctly represent known objects commonly usedin the manufacture of jewelry, such as stars, crescents, horse-shoes,crosses of different forms, etc.

In the production of ornaments of the character stated, from gold, thefirst step of the process consists in alloying gold with another metalsuch as silver, copper, lead or zinc by cupellation or fusion, theproportions of the two metals differing in accordance with the characterof the metal to be combined with the gold, and other circumstances, aratio of one part of gold to at least three parts of the other metal hasbeen found to be best adapted for the purpose.

The alloy obtained in the first step of the process, (gold-silver,gold-copper, gold-lead or gold-zinc) is parted in a solution of nitricacid (HNO,) in water, a ratio of one part of acid to three parts ofwater having been found to produce satisfactory results. The object ofthis. the second step in my process, is to obtain the gold in a purestate and in granular form, while the metal with which it was alloyedpasses into solution, andeproduces in accordance with the metal IusedAgNO Pb(NO etc. These solutions may. be considered as waste with theexception of the silver-solution, AgNO which may be precipitated withsodium chlorid (NaCl) or hydrochloric acid (HCl), and the precipitate(AgCl) fused and returned to the metallic state for use in making otheralloys.

The granular gold obtained in the second step of the process is nowsubjected to a cleansing and p rification action for the purpose ofseparating therefrom, all impurities and foreign substances that maystill be associated with the gold at the completion of the partingaction. While in many instances but one treatment is necessary tocompletely remove all of the metal used in the gold-alloy and allmetallic impurities that may have been combined in the same, it hasgenerally been found advisable to subect the granular substance to twoconsecutive treatments in order to obtain the degree of purity requiredin the further treatment of the gold to form it into sprouts. The firstand principal purification action consists in subjecting the gold to afresh solution of nitric acid (HNO which dissolves any of the remainingmetals used in the gold-alloy as well as any slight metallic impuritiesthat -may have been combined with the same.

sure the solution of both of the above salts.

After the granular gold'thus purified and cleansed, hasbeen washed anddried, it is ready to be formed into sprouts of the desired contour.This is accomplished by placing the gold in molds made especially forthe purpose, of a mixture-of fire-clay, cement and plaster Paris inproportions of 5 to 1 to 1 respectively. This mixture after having beenmoistened sufficiently to be rendered plastic, is shaped in a formsuitable to be handled by means of tongs, and the pattern of the desiredsprout-design is placed in the upper surface of this form, which is thenallowed to partially dry and set, after which the pattern is removed andthe form thoroughly dried for use in the furnace.

The patterns above referred to are made of lead or parafiin which iscarved and shaped in thedesired design which may. be of any character torepresent a star, crescent, diamond,-Maltese cross, horseshoe 0r othenobjects and forms too numerous to mention. The dry granulated gold isplaced in the molds thus made, and the latter are p aced in a furnaceheated to about 2097 Fahrenheit or 1147 centigrade, around the meltingpoint of gold. The mold is allowed'to remain in the furnace sufthesprouts.

ficiently long to melt the edges of the gold granules and fuse themtogether, but not long enough to melt the entire granules so that theywould run together in the form of a button. Removing the mold from theoven and subsequently cooling the same, finishes the process.

The gold which during the melting action has obtained the contour of thepattern in the mold, has at the same time become reticulate inappearance and when removed from the mold presents an ornament welladapted for use in the manufacture of jewelry, such as scarf pins, watchcharms, breast pins, etc.

It should 'be understood that the product obtained by my process isentirely novel over that obtained by ordinary sprouting of gold orsilver, and that to the best of my knowledge, similar articles havenever been produced by any method whatsoever.

The method of producing silver sprouts differs from the processhereinabove described in that the first and second steps thereof'areomitted, it bein unnecessary to usethe metalin granular orm to produceAny ordinary pure silver is adapted for the purpose of producing thereticulate or naments in accordance with my invention.

The silver is placed in molds of the character hereinabove described,after it has sprouted in a heated scorifier. As rapidly 'as the sproutsare formed in the scorifier by the natural process, the silver is tornapart by means of carbon pencils or other suitable tools, and thefragments are placed in the molds and melted until their ed es adhere,to produce an integral article 0% manufacture.

The breaking of the metal inithe scorifier by means of carbon pencils orthe like, may likewise be employed in the process of forming thesprout-ornaments of gold, it having been found to be advantageous inmany instances in the practice of this process, to remove the scorifierfrom the furnace after the metal is melted and then suddenly stir thelatter by means of the carbon-pencils, after it has cooled to a pointjust prior to solidification. This action breaks the metal into fineparticles of crystalline structure which are placed in the molds andheated until they melt together. 1

While the formation of the sprouts by molding them in matrices ofartistic contour, is preferable by virtue of the splendid resultsobtained thereby, the metal, especially the gold, may be shaped bypincers. and

other tools, after it'has been heated in the scorifier to the meltingpoint and stirred by means of the vcarbon-pencils. This method, however,while being entirely practical, requires considerable skill and morelabor than that of forming the sprouts in molds, while obviously theproduct has not the degree of uniform correctness of the desired designswhich is invariably the result of the molding process.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a perspective view of a mold inwhich the granular metal is subjected to heat for the purpose of formingit into sprouts, Fig. 2, a perspective view of the pattern used toproduce a cavity ofthe desired-form in the upper surface of the mold,and Fig. 3, a perspective view of the product of my process in which themold shown in Fig. 1 has been used, drawn to an enlarged scale.

In the drawings the reference numeral 2 designates the mold which in theconstruction shown is made of cylindrical form and in its upper surfacehas a depression 3 shaped in accordance with the desired contour of theornament to be produced. The depression is made by pressing -a patterndesignated in the drawings by the numeral 4, into the upper surface ofthe mold while the material of which it is composed is in a plasticcondition. After the mold has partially dried this pattern is removed ashereinbefore described.

The reference character 5 designates the finished product of the processafter it has been removed from the depression in the mold in which it isformed.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to secure byLettersPatent is:

1. The herein described process of producing metal sprouts ofdeterminate contour consisting in heating granular metal in a mold ofthe desired form to a degree at which its constituent granules coalesceat their points of contact with each other.

2. The herein described process of pro ducing metal sprouts ofdeterminate contour consisting in forming metal in a divided condition,into a sprout by heating the same to a degree at which its constituentparticles coalesce at their points of contact with each other, while themetal is being formed into a contour of predetermined design.

In testimony whereof I "have aflixed my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

WILLIAM J. GOEGLEIN.

Witnesses:

A. S. LEITCH, GUY C. SmsoN.

